Can Sunny Thoughts Stop Cancer? (No. .yet. . .)
Excellent short article in Time magazine, January 17, 2005, p. A14, same title.
Some doctors have encouraged patients to think happy thoughts and visualize their immune system blasting away tumor cells. Studies supporting this have mostly be found either flawed or inconsistent. However a review of 37 studies in the British Medical Journal showed that a positive outlook does correlate with less pain--a real benefit.
Coping styles and positive thinking show no clear effect on cancer, but we do know well that mental states like depression and chronic anxiety have physical effects on the progression of many illnesses, such as heart disease and diabete.
Some believe that studies will ultimately prove a link between stress and the progression of cancer. Dr. David Spiegel of Stanford says the picture is complex,"It is not a matter of 'Fix it in your mind and you fix it in your body,' but it would be strange if what goes on in our minds did not affect how our bodies deal with illness."
Most all of us could improve our skills for coping with stress. Dr. Baute has taught the Relaxation Response, meditation, NLP re-programming and self-hypnosis for many years for a variety of purposes, e.g., stop smoking, anxiety, phobias and sports performance enhancement.
Lots of good thought-provoking articles in this issue of Time on "The Science of Happiness." January 17, 2005.
Some doctors have encouraged patients to think happy thoughts and visualize their immune system blasting away tumor cells. Studies supporting this have mostly be found either flawed or inconsistent. However a review of 37 studies in the British Medical Journal showed that a positive outlook does correlate with less pain--a real benefit.
Coping styles and positive thinking show no clear effect on cancer, but we do know well that mental states like depression and chronic anxiety have physical effects on the progression of many illnesses, such as heart disease and diabete.
Some believe that studies will ultimately prove a link between stress and the progression of cancer. Dr. David Spiegel of Stanford says the picture is complex,"It is not a matter of 'Fix it in your mind and you fix it in your body,' but it would be strange if what goes on in our minds did not affect how our bodies deal with illness."
Most all of us could improve our skills for coping with stress. Dr. Baute has taught the Relaxation Response, meditation, NLP re-programming and self-hypnosis for many years for a variety of purposes, e.g., stop smoking, anxiety, phobias and sports performance enhancement.
Lots of good thought-provoking articles in this issue of Time on "The Science of Happiness." January 17, 2005.
posted by Paschal Baute | 5:38 PM
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